Where to start !!!
Hi
In years gone by all the big boats were mostly from european and american buyers with the exception of a couple of shroud local rich guys that had standing orders with nz companies and had new boats on order all the time, when one finished it went overseas and was sold and the next boat had already been started and the hull was well on its way . our local market is small , and hardly worth a mention . once imports started local companies tumbled one after the other in quick susession .You could import for way less than we could make ,One usa factory could make in a week our totall amount of small boats for a whole year . locals hung on but time has a habit of hurting to much ,in one year i went through 4 companies and each one folded and never reopened again to this very day . Seanymph and Bonito boats combined and that was a bad move, Bonito was tops in there range and Seanymph could never produce there quality ever so was ashame to see them fold , the seanymph boat moulds are here in china also the steadcraft will be here soon also
The big boat thing is vertually non exsistant . Guys with get up and go in the industry have done just that ,got up and went and scattered all over the globe . nz best sailers are all overseas . people like Bruce Farr had to leave to further there careers long time ago has been away so long hes a naturalised person in another country , Usa i think .
The new zealand goverment does absolutly nothing to promote the industry or to encourage and help in any way , nz is surrounded by water and some of the best sailing ground any where . Had a awasome reputation for producing the best sailers and the best and cleverest builders the weresortafter and pick up by shroud and money hungry people overseas .
Some of friends that are seasoned boat builders and designers all have to search outside the country for work .
I had been out of work for 4 months before i came here ! i have a friend who is a designer , boat builder and been doing what he loves all his life . Hes at home and been looking after grand kids the past week while his wife works full time at a high paid job . some of the other older guys have never worked for a long time . i spent time laying wood floors when one boat company i worked closed down , It was work and a new trade to learn and during bad boating times i went back floors and was all that kept me afloat and feed my family
Its Interesting and i keep a eye on this always
Bonito 16 foot and 18.6 built in the late 1980;s are still fetching top dollar to his very day !!interesting what people will pay for a quality very well made boat !! we had 2 years of standing orders for a 16 foot boat and 18 months for the 18.6 !!.
I was the fibreglass workshop suerviser there for a while before going to Tahiti to work !
